The recommendation coming with a soil test suggests me to add calcium
sulfate to a part of my lawn. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or
local nurseries. Where can I find it? Is it a part of other commonly
available products?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

Jay Chan wrote:

The recommendation coming with a soil test suggests me to add calcium
sulfate to a part of my lawn. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or
local nurseries. Where can I find it? Is it a part of other commonly
available products?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

Look for Gypsum.

DaveL wrote:
Jay Chan wrote:

The recommendation coming with a soil test suggests me to add calcium
sulfate to a part of my lawn. But I cannot find it in Home Depot or
local nurseries. Where can I find it? Is it a part of other commonly
available products?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan


Look for Gypsum.
Portland cement is also calcium sulphate, but it is probably more
expensive to buy it as such. Lawn gypsum is best, pricewise.

Look for Gypsum.

Thanks. I will try again and look for gypsum instead.

Jay Chan

Portland cement is also calcium sulphate, but it is probably more
expensive to buy it as such. Lawn gypsum is best, pricewise.

I bought a bag of 40-lb gypsum from a local nursey for only $8. This
is $4 cheaper than what I found in an internet mail order site. The
downside is that it has been sitting outside and is wet. This means I
cannot spread it right away. I probably need to dry it under the sun
for a couple days before I can use it. Oh well...

Jay Chan

(Jay Chan) wrote:
Portland cement is also calcium sulphate, but it is probably more
expensive to buy it as such. Lawn gypsum is best, pricewise.

I bought a bag of 40-lb gypsum from a local nursey for only $8. This
is $4 cheaper than what I found in an internet mail order site. The
downside is that it has been sitting outside and is wet. This means I
cannot spread it right away. I probably need to dry it under the sun
for a couple days before I can use it. Oh well...

Jay Chan


You got ripped off. $8.00 is too much for a dry bag.

ps..forget the soil massage characteristics it claims
on the bag too.

--
Kerry toons http://tinyurl.com/5l6qu

Mix gypsum 50/50 with powdered lime for the best results. The
gypsum will loosen the soil and neutralize calcium chloride salts.


Jay Chan wrote in message
m...
Look for Gypsum.

Thanks. I will try again and look for gypsum instead.

Jay Chan

You got ripped off. $8.00 is too much for a dry bag.

How much do you consider as a reasonable price for a 40-lb bag of
gypsum? You may be getting it from a farm supply store. I don't know
any farm supply store nearby. The closest farm land is
multiple-10-miles away. I can only get it from local nurseries. I
guess this means I will have to get it where I can find it.

Jay Chan

Mix gypsum 50/50 with powdered lime for the best results. The
gypsum will loosen the soil and neutralize calcium chloride salts.

Thanks for the advice. But the soil test recommendation sheet
explicitly states that I don't need to apply limestone in this year. I
will pass on limestone at least for this year. I will do a simple pH
test next year to see if I need it.

Jay Chan

Forgot . .. gypsum will also bind "sodium" chloride salts! You're
quite right about not always needing calcium. Local conditions apply.


Jay Chan wrote in message
om...
Mix gypsum 50/50 with powdered lime for the best results. The
gypsum will loosen the soil and neutralize calcium chloride salts.

Thanks for the advice. But the soil test recommendation sheet
explicitly states that I don't need to apply limestone in this year. I
will pass on limestone at least for this year. I will do a simple pH
test next year to see if I need it.

Jay Chan

Forgot . .. gypsum will also bind "sodium" chloride salts!

Sorry, I don't quite understand the significance of using gypsum to
bind sodium chloride salts. I assume this is a good thing, not a bad
thing. I assume the salts are from over-fertilizing the soil, and the
use of gypsum is a way to remove the salts. Is my understanding
correct?

Thanks for any following up info on this issue.

Jay Chan

(Jay Chan) wrote:
Forgot . .. gypsum will also bind "sodium" chloride salts!

Sorry, I don't quite understand the significance of using gypsum to
bind sodium chloride salts. I assume this is a good thing, not a bad
thing. I assume the salts are from over-fertilizing the soil, and the
use of gypsum is a way to remove the salts. Is my understanding
correct?

Thanks for any following up info on this issue.

Jay Chan

Gypsum is the common name for calcium sulfate, a very water-soluble form of
calcium. If you want to add that, then apply gypsum.

What's your PH?

Gypsum is the common name for calcium sulfate, a very water-soluble form of
calcium. If you want to add that, then apply gypsum.

Thanks for the explanation. I needed to add calcium into the soil.
That was the reason why I used gypsum, and I did that last week.

What's your PH?

The pH in that part of the soil is acceptable according to the soil
test recommendation sheet that I received from a soil test center. I
don't remember exactly what the pH value is. If you want, I can look
for it when I get back home.

The soil test recommendation sheet asked me not to do anything on
changing the pH. Instead, it asked me to add calcium sulfate into the
soil to increase the calcium level (because the calcium level is low).

Next year, I will use some cheap soil test kit to monitor the pH value
of the soil. Sending out to soil test lab that can get expensive; I
can only do that every couple years.

Jay Chan

"Jay Chan" wrote in message

Next year, I will use some cheap soil test kit to monitor the pH value
of the soil. Sending out to soil test lab that can get expensive; I
can only do that every couple years.

That leads me to a another question. Are there differences in brands of soil
tests? Are the ones you buy and send away, different than sending soil to
your closest cooperative extension people?

Bonnie in NJ